tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-147726862014-10-07T02:21:59.103+01:00Lock & LoadA running commentary on social and political affairs from journalist and activist Brett Lock.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-77347899715373376392007-10-12T17:27:00.000+01:002007-10-12T17:54:30.080+01:00Shiny BeastsI'm dizzy with excitement. I have just taken delivery of the most expensive CD I have ever owned. Yep, in a moment of madness, I paid £49.99 plus p&amp;p for a single CD album. It's not especially a good album either. Mostly it got tepid reviews, but it brings back memories for me of lolling about in my buddy Carl's bedroom after school and listening to 'albums'.<br /><br />Those were teh days when you we actually played LPs to death - quite literally wore out the grooves. I wish I still did that. Perhaps I've changed, perhaps music has changed, perhaps adulthood has brought with it the ability to just fork out a tenner for a new CD without the ceremony and ritual that went along with the internal debate on how to best dispose of pocket money.<br /><br />Anyhow, spending a silly amount on one album has brought back so many of those giddy joys.<br /><br />What is it? Well, it's a CD copy of Crosby, Stills &amp; Nash's '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_%28CSN_album%29">Allies</a>'.<br /><br />For some contractual reasons I can't fathom, it was only briefly released in Germany and Japan in the late 1980s and then deleted. Copies are like hens teeth. Believe it or not, fifty quid was a bargain. I've seen it going for over $200.<br /><br />My friend David Toube thinks this is rather extreme behaviour. But he is not a fan of CSN - "maybe a bit of "Heart of Gold" and that stuff, he says. I suck in my breath. A copy of Allies was the missing album in my now complete CSN(Y) collection.<br /><br />David Toube is Morrissey's #1 fan. I bet he'd pay through the nose <a href="http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=99567">for this</a>!Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-72427621396891903232007-03-23T12:40:00.000+00:002007-03-23T12:41:03.120+00:00The Man TrapIn <span id="google-navclient-hilite" style="COLOR: black; BACKGROUND-COLOR: cyan">South</span> <span id="google-navclient-hilite" style="COLOR: black; BACKGROUND-COLOR: fuchsia">Africa</span>, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6438515.stm">crime</a> is a national obsession. It touches <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_6340000/newsid_6343100?redirect=6343153.stm&news=1&amp;nbwm=1&nbram=1&amp;bbwm=1&bbram=1">everyone</a>. If you're not actually a criminal yourself, you're a victim of a criminal, and if per (slim)chance you're neither, it's a certainty that you know someone who is. No dinner with friends is complete without the customary audit of whose been robbed, burgled, mugged, assaulted, hijacked or murdered since you you last met. A strange noise outside interrupted dinner? You can bet that several of your guests will jump up from the table, weapons drawn, while your host fingers the 'panic button' that summons the Armed Response service - a service which <span id="google-navclient-hilite" style="COLOR: black; BACKGROUND-COLOR: cyan">South</span> Africans subscribe to as routinely as satellite TV or the Sunday papers.<br /><br />The <span id="google-navclient-hilite" style="COLOR: black; BACKGROUND-COLOR: cyan">South</span> African imagination for dealing with criminal threats knows no bounds. I was particularly impressed with one invention - and flirted with the idea of getting it installed myself - which bolted to the chassis of the car and, when you hit a specially installed button with your foot, would trigger a flame-thrower, roasting anyone within a metre or two of your car. It sounds gruesome, but what other line of defence does one have when a gang of car-jackers thrusts an AK-47 through the driver's window at the 'robots' (traffic lights)?<br /><br />But finally, I have seen an invention to top that. I can't decide how to feel about it, but it is regrettable that someone thought it necessary to invent.<br /><br />It is essentially a latex 'femidom' (female condom) with fish hooks inside. It allows the insertion of a penis, but not it's extraction without surgery. It is marketed as an anti rape device. It's called <a href="http://www.banderasnews.com/0509/hb-rapex.htm">Rapex</a>.<br /><br /><center><img height="223" alt="rapex.jpg" src="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/rapex.jpg" width="280" border="0" /></center><br /><br />The tragedy is that it has a ready market. In <span id="google-navclient-hilite" style="COLOR: black; BACKGROUND-COLOR: cyan">South</span> <span id="google-navclient-hilite" style="COLOR: black; BACKGROUND-COLOR: fuchsia">Africa</span>, there is a rape every 26 seconds - that's over <a href="http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/zaf-summary-eng">50 000 a year</a>. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1703595.stm">Even babies are raped</a>. and with some studies estimating that as much as <a href="http://www.avert.org/safricastats.htm">25% of the population is HIV+</a> a rape could be a death sentence.<br /><br />Some critics have denounced the device as "medieval and barbaric". Perhaps it is, but frankly, I have no concern for the welfare of a rapist caught - or hooked, as it were - in the act. “A medieval device for a medieval deed!” says Sonet Ehlers, the inventor.<br /><br />A concern that perhaps should be taken more seriously is that being painfully snared by the <a href="http://www.rapestop.net/">Rapex device</a> might enrage the rapist and escalate his violence towards the woman. Still, he'll have some explaining to do when he goes to the ER to have it removed.<br /><br />Promoters of Rapex point out that the difficulty of removing the device from the penis will help identify rapists. They dismiss the criticism of potentially escalating violence by saying that <i>any</i> attempt by a woman to defend herself could be similarly criticised.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-21440213258929924902007-03-19T19:36:00.000+00:002007-03-19T19:41:28.669+00:00Crude Christian anti-gay propaganda<p><object height="330" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mnjpgw91CXQ"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mnjpgw91CXQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="330"></embed></object><br /><br />A crude, insulting and <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_07019sors.shtml">factually false</a> propoganda video has been produced to promote a Christian protest in Parliament Square at noon on Wednesday 21 March to protest the introduction of the Sexual Orientation Regulations.</p><p>The video claims that "the government is determined to pass a law that will, among other things, force shools to teach homosexual sex and relationships to children of all ages in schools". </p><p>In spite of having been <a href="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/2007/01/09/all_or_nothing.php">exposed as liars</a>, these Christian fundamentalists continue to push the idea that the Sexual Orientation Regulations apply to the content of school lessons. It is false! The SORs have nothing to do with school curricula. They are concerned only with the provision of goods and services. This means that a gay student cannot be denied admission or expelled because of their sexual orientation. That's all.</p><p>Bizarrely, since the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnjpgw91CXQ">video</a> features a 'teacher' reading about 'homosexuality' to a group of primary schoolers, it comes with a warning that no one under 18 should view it. What did they do? Send the kids they'd used in the making of the video to <a href="http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/">re-education camps</a>?</p><p></p>Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-36130790665723000452007-03-19T12:09:00.000+00:002007-03-19T12:11:30.894+00:00New death threat against Taslima Nasreen<img height="160" alt="TaslimaNasreen.jpg" hspace="10" src="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/TaslimaNasreen.jpg" width="150" align="left" border="0" />Taslima Nasreen, the Bangladeshi feminist writer <a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/multimedia/iwd2007/">who spoke in London</a> at an International Women's Day event a fornight ago has had a Rs 500,000 (£6000) bounty put on her head by an Indian Mulsim group, the All India Ibtehad Council.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\18\story_18-3-2007_pg7_3">According to the Daily Times</a> in India, Taqi Raza Khan, the president of the council affered the reward to anyone carrying out the "extermination of this notorious woman", saying "Taslima has put Muslims to shame in her writing. She should be killed and beheaded and anyone who does this will get a reward from the council."<br /><br />Taslima Nasreen fled Bangladesh in 1994 after Muslim fundamentalists declared her writings blasphemous and demanded her execution.<br /><br />A website billed as "Islam Under Scrutiny by Ex-Muslims" offers more <a href="http://islam-watch.org/others/Death_Fatwa_Taslima.htm">background information</a> on the death-fatwa againts Nasreen and others.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-51346324728550813842007-03-15T13:28:00.001+00:002007-03-15T13:28:56.526+00:00Keillor Savaged<i>And if I seem angry, you fucking motherfucker, it’s because I am. Angered and shocked. I’m used to being attacked by right-wingers obsessed with gay sex and fixated on anti-gay stereotypes. It’s a new and different sensation to be attacked so crudely by a man of the left—particularly when that man’s fat ass squats in a large glass house.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/blog/2007/03/fuck_garrison_keillor">So says a very angry Dan Savage</a> as he, as my friend Brian said, "basically rips the large intestine out of Garrison Keillor and strangles him with it".<br /><br />What has made columnist and author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Savage">Savage</a> so angry? <br /><br />Well, radio personality Garrison Keillor <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/03/14/keillor/index_np.html">wrote</a> in his regular Salon column thus:<br /><br /><i>"Under the old monogamous system, we didn’t have the problem of apportioning Thanksgiving and Christmas among your mother and stepdad, your dad and his third wife, your mother-in-law and her boyfriend Hal, and your father-in-law and his boyfriend Chuck. Today, serial monogamy has stretched the extended family to the breaking point. A child can now grow up with eight or nine or 10 grandparents—Gampa, Gammy, Goopa, Gumby, Papa, Poopsy, Goofy, Gaga and Chuck—and need a program to keep track of the actors...<br /><br />... And now gay marriage will produce a whole new string of hyphenated relatives. In addition to the ex-stepson and ex-in-laws and your wife’s first husband’s second wife, there now will be Bruce and Kevin’s in-laws and Bruce’s ex, Mark, and Mark’s current partner, and I suppose we’ll get used to it. "</i><br /><br />Trouble is, as Savage explains:<br /><br /><i>Keillor has been married THREE TIMES. He has children from two of his marriages, children who presumably need a computer program to keep track of their step-siblings, half-siblings, and sprawling extended families, children that have to be “apportioned out on Thanksgiving and Christmas.” Okay, fine, whatever. Keillor can recognize marriage, life-long commitment, and less complicated family structures as the ideal, even if he himself has failed—failed spectacularly—to live up to that ideal himself. It might have been nice, however, if the withered old hypocrite had admitted to Salon readers that he has failed to live up to the ideals he’s espousing. How about a little full disclosure, Garrison?</i><br /><br />But not only has he married three times, he's also had long-term affairs. In fact, his second marriage failed because of his adultary.<br /><br />Garrison Keilor is the author of books like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Homegrown-Democrat-Plain-Thoughts-America/dp/B000FZDKUC/">Homegrown Democrat: A Few Plain Thoughts From the Heart of America</a>. The book opens:<br /><br /><i>"I AM A Democrat, which was nothing I decided for myself but simply the way I was brought up, starting with the idea of Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, which is the basis of the simple social compact by which we live."</i><br /><br />Hypocrite!<br /><br />But there is nothing I can really add to the majesty of Dan Savage's full reply. <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/blog/2007/03/fuck_garrison_keillor">Read it here</a>.<br /><br />And many gay Americans still think the party that gave America <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOMA">DOMA</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Ask_Don%27t_Tell">DADT</a> is a friend to the gay community. In broad strokes, the difference between the Left and the Right on gay issues is that the Right will tell you they hate fags to your face. That's about it. Vote Democrat to get rid of that idiot Bush by all means, but don't fool yourself that the Dems will do jackshit for gay folk.<br /><br />And just to underscore this point. When Hillary Clinton was <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2007/03/senator_clinton.html">asked today by ABC News</a> whether, in light of <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-3914.html">General Peter Pace's outburst</a>, she though gay people were immoral, she managed to muster this:<br /><br />"Well I'm going to leave that to others to conclude."<br /><br />Keillor himself has advised the Democratic Party to "jettison" issues that the Republicans use to "divide" them. He said <a href="http://www.nathancallahan.com/garrison.html">in a radio interview</a> in Kansas recently:<br /><br /><i>“I think that gay marriage is also an issue that does no good for us and I want to see us divest ourselves of this,” Keillor says. “The symbolism of gay people marrying is terribly potent, terrible powerful, and we ignore this at our peril in our party."</i><br /><br /><a href="http://outrightlibertarians.blogspot.com/">With friends like these</a>, as Brian - a former supporter of Howard Dean - says, as he looks elsewhere.<br /><br />Still, as Savage says, it always is "a different sensation" when crude attacks come from the Left. Sadly, he'd better <a href="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/2005/11/21/galloways_party_condemns_its_homophobic_leaders.php">get used to it</a>.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-32542314473586119412007-03-13T17:43:00.001+00:002007-03-13T17:43:33.401+00:00Women's Rights, the Veil and Islamic and religious laws<b>GHQ-Multimedia Presents: </b>The speeches from the seminar <b>"Women's Right, the Veil and Islamic and Religious Laws"</b> held at the University of London Union in London on 8 March 2007 to mark International Women's Day.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/multimedia/iwd2007/">Listen online or download the speeches in MP3 format</a> by Sohaila Sharifi, Taslima Nasreen, Maryam Namazie, Mina Ahadi, Sonja Eggerickx and Ann Harrison.<br /><br /><i>"This was a superb and exhilarating evening. I cannot say how much admiration I have for these courageous women. They sense that they are at the head of a growing movement and that the women of Iran are aching to be freed from the confines of the 'medieval rag' and all it represents," </i>said Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society and the media spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association (which publishes <a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/">GHQ</a>).<br /><br />The seminar was co-sponsored by the <a href="http://www.irandwr.org/english/">International Campaign in Defence of Women's Right in Iran - UK</a>, the <a href="http://www.secularism.org.uk/">National Secular Society</a> and the <a href="http://www.galha.org/">Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association</a>.<br /><br /><b>About the speakers:</b><br /><br /><b>Sohaila Sharifi</b> is a member of the Campaign in Defence of Women's Right in Iran - UK, and chaired the meeting. She also translated for Mina Ahadi.<br /><br /><b>Taslima Nasreen</b> is a physician, writer, radical feminist, human rights activist and a secular humanist. Her first book of poetry was published in 1986. Her second became a huge success in 1989. Next she started writing about women's oppression. In 1992 she received the prestigious literary award Ananda from West Bengal in India for her Selected Columns, the first writer from Bangladesh to earn that award. Islamic fundamentalists launched a campaign against her in 1990, staging street demonstrations and processions. In 1993, Soldiers of Islam issued a fatwa against her, a price was set on her head because of her criticism of Islam, and she was confined to her house. Taslima has been living in exile. She has written twenty eight books of poetry, essays, novels, and short stories in her native language of Bengali. Many have been translated into twenty different languages.<br /><br /><b>Maryam Namazie</b> is a rights activist, commentator and broadcaster on Iran, the Middle East, women's rights, cultural relativism, secularism, Humanism, religion, Islam and political Islam. She is the National Secular Society's 2005 Secularist of the Year award winner and an NSS Honorary Associate; producer of TV International English; Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran's International Relations Committee; co-editor of WPI Briefing and Vice President of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. She is also involved in the Third Camp against US militarism and Islamic terrorism. She has been threatened by Islamists as a result of her defence of rights and freedoms.<br /><br /><b>Mina Ahadi</b> was born in Iran in 1956. She started her political activities by setting up discussion clubs and performances when she was only 14. She was actively involved as a university student in the 1979 Iranian revolution. When the Islamic government gained power and Khomeini issued a fatwa for compulsory Islamic veiling, she organised meetings and demonstrations against the government. Mina is the founder and coordinator of the International Committees against Execution and Stoning. Mina Ahadi has lived in Europe since 1990. Recently she has founded the Central Council of Ex-Muslims to expose Islamic laws and its affects on people. She is currently under police protection for her activities.<br /><br /><b>Sonja Eggerickx</b> was born in 1947 in Brussels. She studied Moral Sciences at the State University in Ghent (Belgium) and was active with the humanist youth, the feminist group and later the humanist union. She has been a teacher of what is called "non-confessional ethics" for 23 years, as well as a school inspector for the same subject. She is President of the Flemish Union of freethinkers/Humanists, co-president of the Belgian umbrella organisation Central Laïque committee and is currently the president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union.<br /><br /><b>Ann Harrison</b>, currently a Researcher on Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, has worked for Amnesty International in the Middle East and North Africa Programme for a total of about 10 years, first in the 1990s and most recently since June 2005. She has worked on a number of countries in the region, beginning with Israel and the Occupied Territories and Jordan, and later Lebanon and Syria. She has worked on human rights issues in Iran for almost four years.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/multimedia/iwd2007/">Listen to the speeches.</a>Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-59264770916735498962007-03-12T10:24:00.000+00:002007-03-12T10:25:05.618+00:00Mugabe's mielie-mouthed media's moral maizeWhile Zimbabwe starves, Robert Mugabe's state-controlled media feeds the people a staple diet of bullshit.<br /><br /><a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1270948220070312">According to Reuters</a>, this weekend, Zimbabwean police arrested several opposition leaders, including Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, and shot another man dead while breaking up a prayer meeting held "to address the deepening political and economic crisis".<br /><br />Of course, normally I'd scoff at people praying to achieve anything, but of course, Mugabe has banned political gatherings. And, since all rational avenues to effect change in the country seem to have been explored, it is no wonder that people might request divine intervention - even if only as a means to discuss the national catastrophe inflicted upon the country by Mugabe. Imagine inflation at 1700% and over 80% unemployment.<br /><br />However, state-controlled Zimbabwe Herald <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200703120001.html">reported the story</a> thus:<br /><br /><i>"ONE person was shot dead by police and three police officers severely injured during an attack by MDC thugs, while opposition faction leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara were arrested for inciting people to engage in violence."</i><br /><br />For me, this is nothing new because I remember the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid#State_of_emergency">State of Emergency</a> in South Africa. In fact, I wonder if Mugabe didn't buy surplus <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Bureau_of_State_Security">BOSS</a> and <a href="http://rw-infopedia.pbwiki.com/Civil-Cooperation-Bureau">CCB</a> textbooks at auction.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-46748608434353309552007-03-07T10:32:00.000+00:002007-03-07T10:33:21.909+00:00SciFi GHQ now out!<img height="320" alt="GHQ-Winter0607-web01.jpg" hspace="10" src="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/GHQ-Winter0607-web01.jpg" width="240" align="right" vspace="10" border="0" /><br /><br />The new print edition of GHQ is in the post to subscribers, but it is also available as a <a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/download.html">free PDF download</a> from the <a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/">GHQ website</a>.<br /><br />The cover story looks at how Science Fiction on television (like Star Trek, Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica) deals with themes of Humanism vs religion.<br /><br />There are also stories about 'The Festival of Blight' (where religious fundamentalists protested outside the House of Lords in opposition to the inclusion of gay people in anti-discrimination legislation) and a report back from the recent <a href="http://www.lgcm.org.uk/fhconference/">Faith, Homophobia &amp; Human Rights conference</a>, including the text of a speech by <a href="http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/">Ali Hilli</a> who details the latest atrocities against LGBTs in Iraq by Islamist militias.<br /><br />Keith Porteous-Wood, executive director of the <a href="http://www.secularism.org.uk">National Secular Society</a> explains why secularism is good for everyone - even the religious. There is also an op-ed from Humanist author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Smoker">Barbara Smoker</a> on free-speech, respect and religion.<br /><br />There are also details about the <a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/filmfestival/">GALHA Film Festival</a> starting this weekend.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/pdf/GHQ-Winter20067-web.pdf">Download</a> the new issue, enjoy, fume, etc...Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-77515392601718617882007-03-05T10:51:00.001+00:002007-03-05T12:31:42.300+00:00Women's Rights, the Veil and Islamic and religious laws<img style="WIDTH: 334px; HEIGHT: 145px" height="200" alt="IWD07.jpg" src="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/IWD07.jpg" width="500" border="0" /><br /><br />To mark <a href="http://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women's Day</a>, a seminar entitled <b>Women's Rights, the Veil and Islamic and religious laws </b>will be held at the University of London Union from 6 - 10pm.<br /><br />The seminar is co-sponsored by the <a href="http://www.irandwr.org/english/">International Campaign in Defence of Women’s Right in Iran</a>-UK and the <a href="http://www.secularism.org.uk/">National Secular Society</a> and the <a href="http://galha.org/">Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association</a>.<br /><br />The speakers are:<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.iheu.org/node/1125">Sonja Eggerickx</a>:</b> President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union<br /><b><a href="http://www.amnesty.org/">Ann Harrison</a>:</b> Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Department of Amnesty International’s International Secretariat<br /><b><a href="http://www.maryamnamazie.com/">Maryam Namazie</a>:</b> Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran’s International Relations Committee, 2005 National Secular Society’s Secularist of the Year Award, Winner and producer of International TV.<br /><b><a href="http://taslimanasrin.com/">Taslima Nasrin</a>:</b> Physician, writer, radical feminist, human rights activist and secular humanist<br /><br />In Iran yesterday, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6416789.stm">over 30 women were arrested</a> and charged with endangering national security, propaganda against the state and taking part in an illegal gathering after protesting outside the court where 5 women were being tried for organising a protest last June against laws discriminating against women.<br /><br />There will also be a showing - for the first time - of a short film <b><i>“In the name of honor”</i></b> by Reza Moradi.<br /><br />Reza Moradi famously errupted in anger during Tony Benn's speech at the The War Coalition's "Time To Go" rally when some of the "peace demonstrators" in the crowd started waving Iranian flags. "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Tad5aHjWI">We will not allow it! We will not alow the Islamic Regime to be represented here!</a>" Moradi exclaimed, while attempting to explain what the Islamic Republic of Iran's flag meant to socialists, trade unionists, human rights activits and others who had been on the receiving end of torture, imprisonment and execution. His protestations, of course, fell on deaf ears, as the StWC stewards pushed him around and allowed the triumphant fascists to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOfI3TKg5oM">wave the flags</a> in his face.<br /><br /><b>Admission is free</b><br /><br />University of London Union<br />Room 3D, Malet Street, London <a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&amp;amp;amp;amp;q=WC1E+7HY&layer=&amp;ie=UTF8&z=15&amp;ll=51.523831,-0.131149&spn=0.011268,0.043001&amp;amp;amp;amp;om=1&amp;iwloc=addr">WC1E 7HY</a><br />(Nearest underground stations: Russell Square, Goodge Street)<br /><br />For more info, call 07719111738 or 07950924434Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-68865051343320662552007-02-28T19:59:00.001+00:002007-02-28T19:59:18.127+00:00Banish the BishopsIf ever there was a slap in the face to the idea of a separation of Church and State, it is the privileged position of the phalanx of Bishops in the House of Lords - a deeply undemocratic institution to begin with.<br /><br />Next week the House of Commons will be debating House of Lords reform and the <a href="http://www.humanism.org.uk/">British Humanist Association</a> is calling on people to let their MPs know their views on the place of Bishops in a 'reformed' House of Lords.<br /><br />The BHA says:<br /><br /><i>"The Government proposes to retain the right of Bishops to sit in parliament and even to give the Church new powers to decide precisely which Bishops will represent them. The BHA and our supporters in Parliament will be arguing that the right of Bishops to sit in the Lords must be removed."</i><br /><br />The BHA has also produced <a href="http://www.humanism.org.uk/uploadedFiles/cms/store//Campaigns/article_HouseofLordsReform_files/ATTACHMENTS/Against%20Bishops%202007.pdf">a briefing paper</a> on the issue, which is worth reading. It sets out all the arguments for giving the bishops the boot.<br /><br />They are urging people to write to their MPs urging them to support initiatives to remove the bishops from the Lords, especially by adding their name to EDM 998.<br /><br />For those with limited time, the BHA has produced a <a href="http://campaign.publicaffairsbriefing.co.uk/home.aspx?cid=19bd386c-8a68-487b-baef-dcfa6ced1a5c">pro forma letter</a> which can be automatically sent to your MP with two or three mouse clicks. It literally takes 30 seconds to do.<br /><br />Also encourage your friends to write in. We can be fairly certain that the organised religious groups will be engaged in heavy lobbying. This is a rare opportunity to get this unelected and unrepresentative group out of parliament.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-29762527347749512962007-02-20T11:46:00.000+00:002007-02-20T11:47:13.418+00:00Little AtomsA few Friday's ago I was invited onto the <a href="http://www.littleatoms.com/">Little Atoms</a> radio show to discuss various humanist and secularist issues: the new SORs, communalist politics, the rise of the religious right, the pitfalls of standing up for secularism when some cynically conflate race and religion, etc... you know, my usual hobby-horses.<br /><br />The show, which airs on <a href="http://www.resonancefm.com/">Resonance 104.4 FM</a> is hosted by Padraig Reidy and Richard Sanderson.<br /><br />You can <a href="http://www.littleatoms.com/sounds/brettlock.mp3">listen to the show here</a>. (The talking starts after about 1:30 of really spacy/trippy new-age theme music.)<br /><br />Past shows can be <a href="http://www.littleatoms.com/audio.htm">downloaded</a> from their audio archive. Guests have included Harry from <a href="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/">Harry's Place</a>, as well as Johann Hari, Nick Cohen, David Aaronovitch, Jon Ronson (twice) and A.C. Grayling.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-67831670328884166822007-02-13T11:17:00.000+00:002007-02-13T11:41:04.976+00:00Jews and Gay Adoption LawIn my capacity as editor of <a href="http://gayhumanist.com/">Gay Humanist Quarterly</a>, I was invited to write a comment piece for <a href="http://www.totallyjewish.com">Totally Jewish</a> on the issue of exemptions for religious groups from having to provide services to gay adoptive parents, following <a href="http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/national/?content_id=5476">a feature</a> they ran in the previous edition.<br /><br />I argued that the Jewish community, particularly, should support anti-discrimination issues and should be very wary of so-called "<a href="http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/2cor/6.html#14">conscientious</a>" opt-outs:<br /><br /><em>"It’s hard to accept, but antisemites also have consciences. Should anti-Jewish discrimination be overlooked if the perpetrators claim it is a conscientious objection to Jews, not blind prejudice? If so, all manner of far-right bigots would suddenly become very pious indeed."</em><br /><br />The full article is <a href="http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/special_reports/?content_id=5603">here</a>.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-38504915882235009702007-01-24T12:15:00.000+00:002007-01-24T12:16:55.670+00:00Call on PM to be RuthlessWhen Ruth Kelly - who abstained from or voted against key gay equality issues - was given the 'Equalities' portfolio in May last year, George Broadhead of the Gay &amp; Lesbian Humanist Association <a href="http://www.galha.org/press/2006/05_13.html">warned</a>:<br /><br /><i>“Ms Kelly’s equivocal answers to these questions [about homosexuality] bring into question her appointment to this sensitive post. She says that she will make her own mind up about the issues and follow the Government’s policy, but how can we be sure that she will be able to put her deep attachment to this extremist Catholic group to one side when making decisions?”</i><br /><br />Peter Tatchell of OutRage! <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4756399.stm">commented</a>:<br /><br /><i>"Tony Blair would never appoint someone to a race-equality post who had a lukewarm record of opposing racism."</i><br /><br />Despite the warnings that it made no sense to appoint someone in charge of equalities who had already thrown in her lot with the chief group seeking exemptions from compliance with equality legislation, the government plowed ahead and gave Kelly, a member of the ultra-conservative Catholic organisation, Opus Dei, the job.<br /><br />Now Kelly finds it impossible to put aside her personal views and is helping to drive 'a horse and coaches' through equality legislation.<br /><br />"It's not acceptable to exempt gay couples before considering whether they are suitable... You can't have an equal rights law with exemptions like that - you either have equal rights law or you don't," said Eagle.<br /><br />The Number 10 website allows one to directly petition the Prime Minister. Now it is hosting <a href="http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/kellyweu/">a petition</a> to remove Ruth Kelly. I've signed it.<br /><br />By signing it, I am not suggesting that anyone with strong religious beliefs is unfit to hold office. They are - but not this one. It is an obscenity that the person put in charge of the now-combined equalities portfolio shills for the one lobby that seeks exemptions.<br /><br />As I said in an earlier post on a similar issue: either everyone is protected or no-one. It is absurd that it is illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of their religious faith but they are exempt from having to return the courtesy.<br /><br />Labour MEP, Michael Cashman, is <a href="http://pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-3547.html">backing calls</a> for Ruth Kelly to resign.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1165323403954870272006-12-05T12:56:00.000+00:002006-12-05T12:56:43.980+00:00New GHQ Out Now!<img height="160" alt="GHQ4.jpg" hspace="10" src="http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/archives/GHQ4.jpg" width="120" align="left" border="0" />It's shameless plug time again. The <a href="http://gayhumanist.com/pdf/GHQ-Autumn2006-web.pdf">Autumn edition of GHQ</a> is now available for free download from the <a href="http://gayhumanist.com/">Gay Humanist Quarterly website</a>. It is a <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html">PDF</a> a smidgen over 2mb.<br /><br />In this edition, there is an interview with long-standing GALHA secretary, George Broadhead on the occasion of his National Secular Society Lifetime Achievement Award, and an article about a project that demonstrated that 'traditional marriage' isn't necessary the in the 'tradition' that some think it is - by reconstructing the medieval Church's same-sex blessing ceremonies.<br /><br />There is a primer on Hizb ut Tahrir's unsavoury constitution and Peter Tatchell writes about why he whiffs hypocrisy in those who do not want their religious beliefs ‘offended’.<br /><br />In an op-ed, I explain why I think that some gay Muslims are misguided in their assumptions about other faiths, particularly when attempting to draw parallels with their experience of religious homophobia.<br /><br />Terry Sanderson reviews the life and art of Marlene Dietrich and Tony Challis reports back from the Edinburgh Festival.<br /><br />Warren Allen Smith provides gossip from across the pond, while Brian Miller dissects the recent US elections while noting that both the Republicans &amp; the Democrats use cynical homophobia as an election ploy.<br /><br />And of course, the usual round-up of news, views and reviews, blasphemy, sacrilege and godlessness in this "certified 100% faith free" quarterly.<br /><br />PS: If you ever wondered what evangelical preacher George Hargreaves produced in his former life as a writer of disco anthems, or you're curious about what newbie Scientologists are told in their 'orientation' programme - or you just want to see the miracle of Jesus appearing in a dog's bottom... then you'll find details enclosedBrett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1159962481153325532006-10-04T12:48:00.000+01:002006-10-04T12:48:01.246+01:00Religious Rights vs Gay RightsDebate/Panel Discussion:<br/><strong>Religious Rights vs Gay Rights: </strong><br/>Should the Gay Police Association be prosecuted for inciting religious hatred?<br/><br/>Date: Friday, 13 October 2006<br/>Time: 7:30 PMVenue: The Library, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RLMap: <a href="http://www.conwayhall.org.uk/where.htm">http://www.conwayhall.org.uk/where.htm</a><br/>Nearest Tube: Holborn<br/><br/>ALL WELCOME – Free Admission<br/><br/>The Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association is hosting a panel discussion around thethreats to prosecute the Gay Police Association (GPA) following their advert linking religious belief to homophobic incidents.<br/><br/>The panellists will consider the issues the advert raises and discuss the rise ofreligiously-motivated homophobia in general and the increasing clash between religion and gay rights.<br/><br/>Evangelical Christian, Rev George Hargreaves – who is planning to bring a private prosecution of the GPA – will join the panel. This will ensure a lively debate around one of the most important issues facing the LGBT community today.<br/><br/>The panellists will include a representative from the Gay Police Association, Ted Brown of Black Gays & Lesbians Against Media Homophobia and Savi Hensman of the Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement.<br/><br/>The Gay Police Association advert pictured a Bible next to a pool of blood with the text:<br/><br/>“In the last twelve months, The Gay Police Association has recorded a 75% increase in homophobic incidents, where the sole or primary motivating factor was the religious beliefs of the perpetrator.”<br/><br/>Was the advert justified? What is the extent of religiously-motivated attacks on gay people? Does the advert incite religious hatred? Is there a basis for the prosecution? Are too many people – both religious and gay – being investigated for simply speaking their minds? <br/><br/>Come along to Conway Hall on Friday 13 October and find out!<br/><br/>There will be a period for the panellists to be challenged by the audience, so join the debate.<br/>Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1159441593967007962006-09-28T12:06:00.000+01:002006-09-28T12:09:04.973+01:00Kids on Fire: The American Madrassas<img hspace="10" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/abc_gma_jesuscamp1_060927_sp.jpg" align="left" /><b><i>"Where should we be putting our efforts? I'll tell you where our enemies are putting theirs. They're putting it on the kids. They're going into the schools. You go to Palestine... they're taking their kids to camps like we take ours to Bible camps and they're putting grenades into their hands, they're teaching them to put on bomb belts, teaching them how to use rifles and machine guns... It is no wonder with that kind of intense training and discipling that those young people are ready to kill themselves for the cause of Islam."</i></b><br /><br />So, given the shocking picture the speaker has presented, where does she think her community should be putting their efforts? Promoting secualar rationalism? Perhaps calling on people of faith to chill out? Not bloody likely. She wants to get in on the act.<br /><br /><b><i>"I want to see young people who are committed to the cause of Jesus Christ as the young people are to the cause of Islam. I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the cause of the Gospel as they are in Pakistan, in Israel and Palestine and all those different places."</i></b><br /><br />That is, as they say, some scary shit!<br /><br />A new documentary "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486358/">Jesus Camp</a>" shines a light on the Evangelical Christian version of the Islamic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrassa">madrassas</a> we keep hearing about. Clearly, fundamentalists of all stripes are preparing for Armageddon.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2496622">According to ABC News</a>, the camp teaches children - as young as five - how to be "true Christian soldiers" and to "take back America for Christ". One has to wonder how long the 'take back America' will take to mutate into 'take back the world'! "God's Boot Camp?" <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-jesus25sep25,1,7972689.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-entnews&amp;ctrack=1&cset=true">asks the LA Times</a>.<br /><br />Here is the trailer:<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/y_EKHK1C2IE" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><br />There's a lot more shocking coverage made available by the miracle of YouTube. Watch the ABC <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UWIb4FwHPg&amp;NR">special report here</a>, and there are more clips from the documentary <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWhT2PtaD0w">here</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7VHAGSJMLY">here</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMWs_J6Bjzs">here</a>.<br /><br />See also the film's <a href="http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/">official website</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">[HAT TIP: Brian M.]</span>Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1159363505307895392006-09-27T14:24:00.000+01:002006-09-27T14:25:05.326+01:00It's all over if the fat lady doesn't sing<img hspace="10" src="http://www.styriarte.com/harnoncourt/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/1445-173x400.jpg" align="left" />The ball of self-censorship has started to roll. The <a href="http://www.deutscheoperberlin.de">Berlin Opera</a> has cancelled a run of Mozart's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idomeneo#2006_Controversy">Idomeneo</a>.<br /><br />The problem is that, along with the heads of Poseidon, Jesus and Buddha, the head of Mohammed is also depicted.<br /><br />So, after a warning from the security officials that the 200 year old opera "could provoke dangerous reactions" and pose a threat to the safety of opera goers (and presumably others), Kirsten Harms, director of Berlin's Deutsche Opera decided to pull the plug on the production. German politicians are not happy.<br /><br /><a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-27T095734Z_01_L27323744_RTRUKOC_0_US-GERMANY-MUSLIMS.xml&amp;archived=False">According to Reuters</a>, Berlin's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, rightly says, "Our ideas about openness, tolerance and freedom must be lived on the offensive. Voluntary self-limitation gives those who fight against our values a confirmation in advance that we will not stand behind them."<br /><br />And, <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/27/arts/EU_A-E_MUS_Germany_Opera_Islam.php">according to the International Herald Tribune</a>, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Wednesday that "self-censorship out of fear" would not be tolerated.<br /><br />"This is about art, not about politics. "We should not make art dependent on religion — then we are back in the Middle Ages." said Kenan Kolat, a leader of Germany's Turkish Community, adding that it was time Muslims accepted freedom of expression in art.<br /><br />Strong words all round, but will we have the courage of our convictions to stand behind them? I predict that the rationalisation that an opera (or a book, or a poem, or a painting, or a photograph, or a play or a film or a TV programme) isn't worth the life of a nun will gain currency. Of course, that's exactly right: very little is worth trading for a human life. But it's a false dilema.<br /><br />By failing to assert the right to free expression in a free country, we're bargaining away a lot more than the life of a nun... or a director, or a tourist, or whoever else's blood Islamists decide must be spilt in retribution for free thought and free expression.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1158332355400520752006-09-15T15:58:00.000+01:002006-09-15T16:48:31.583+01:00One Last Nail To The Coffin Of Independent Media in IranThe <a href="http://www.secularism.org.uk/">National Secular Society</a>'s Newsline has just popped into my inbox and it contains a story that passed me - and I suspect a lot of others - by this week.<br /><br /><i><b>Iran's most prominent reformist newspaper has been closed down</b> for failing to remove an executive accused of publishing "blasphemous" articles and insulting officials. The country's press supervisory board, run by the culture ministry, ordered the closure of the Persian daily paper Sharq on Monday after it failed to replace managing director Muhammad Rahmanian. The board said the paper had been given one month to replace him, but after the deadline ran out on Sunday he remained at the helm. "Because of 70 cases of violations, including insulting officials, religious and national figures, publishing blasphemous articles and also articles creating discord ... the board demanded the replacement," the board said in a statement.</i><br /><br />Their competitor (I imagine) <i>The Tehran Times</i> <a href="http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=9/12/2006&Cat=2&amp;Num=003">ran the announcement</a> with practically no background or reaction, but the online Iran Press Service (which publishes in English from abroad) gave a lot of background in their article <a href="http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2006/september-2006/sharq-closed-13906.shtml">One Last Nail To The Coffin Of Independent Media in Iran</a>.<br /><br />Describing Sharq as "the country’s most influential and popular newspaper", they noted:<br /><br /><i>“We are in a vicious circle, for, as a result of these pressures, closures and crackdowns, more Iranian intellectuals, journalists, scholars and others take refuge with outside-based media to express themselves and are immediately accused of collaboration with foreign media and arrested.”</i><br /><br />Sharq is just the latest victim of a concerted attack on the media. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1870587,00.html">The Guardian report on the issue</a> notes that "another Iranian newspaper has also been closed down - political monthly Nameh has also been shut for blasphemy and insulting religious figures. The paper's editor, Majid Tavallaei, said it was closed for publishing a poem by dissident female poet Simin Behbahani, according to an Associated Press report."<br /><br />The Guardian story also noted that "Iranian courts have closed more than 100 publications since 2000, most of which were reformist."<br /><br />In their report, South African online news portal <a href="http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1996882,00.html">News24.com</a> says that another paper, the State-owned <i>Iran</i> was closed in May for publishing a cartoon that offended the Azeris and led to several days of unrest in northwestern Azerbaijan province. The cartoonist and the editor-in-chief of the daily remain in jail.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1158331323588578312006-09-15T15:37:00.000+01:002006-09-15T15:42:03.606+01:00What's going on here?<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7979/1347/1600/ZimSAHouse.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7979/1347/320/ZimSAHouse.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />On Wednesday afternoon, I was showing a friend from South Africa around London. As we walked from Charing Cross station towards Trafalgar Square we heard quite a commotion coming from the opposite pavement. Being a journalist, she was quite eager to see what it was all about. "Good heavens," said I, "that's right outside South Africa House!"<br /><br />I took the snap above on my camera phone (hence the poor quality) as we approached.<br /><br />The protest was by a group of Zimbabweans angy that Thabo Mbeki will not take the lead in a regional effort to do something about Robert Mugabe's regime.<br /><br />The Institute of War and Peace Reporting has <a href="http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&amp;amp;amp;o=259431&apc_state=heniacr2006">a critical piece</a> outlining exactly what Thabo Mbeki's failings on this issue are. And this is why Zimbabwean activists have moved down The Strand from the Zimbawean embassy towards South Africa House.<br /><br />Of course, no noddy badge for guessing which UK politician is swanning around on the world stage (literally) with Mugabe!<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7979/1347/320/GallowayAndMugabe.png" border="0" />Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1158058999326437782006-09-12T11:10:00.000+01:002006-09-12T16:01:51.620+01:00What to do about DarfurSunday 17 Spetember 2006 is the <a href="http://">Global Day for Darfur</a>.<br /><br />While a great deal of activity is proposed for this day to draw attention to the criminally under-reported situation in the region, I sense that there is a shortage of ideas about what to do about the situation itself.<br /><br />At the public meeting organised by the <a href="http://eustonmanifesto.org/">Euston Group</a> last week, some of the ideas - especially those proposed by the <a href="http://www.aegistrust.org/">Aegis Trust</a>, like boycotting produce from the Sudan, writing to one's MP and protesting to the Sudan embassy - would, in my opinion, be limited in their effectiveness. A government this shameless cannot be shamed into acting (or not acting, as the case may be) and the economic pressure of a boycott most likely will be felt by the farmers, not the corrupt politicians transferring hard currency by the suitcase full into European banks.<br /><br />Did the collapse of the Zimbawean economy stop Robert Mugabe's shopping sprees in Paris and Rome, for example?<br /><br />That is not to say that symbolic gestures can't be galvenised into a wider and more effective programme of action. They are important as a component of consciousness building, which is perhaps the first step to something more concrete.<br /><br />But, what's next? What needs to be done on Monday the 18th and beyond?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.petertatchell.net/">Peter Tatchell</a> has some ideas, which I present now for discussion.<br /><br />Last year, Tatchell helped organise a "die-in" outside Downing Street in which <a href="http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=471562005">250 Darfurian refugees</a> and some supporters participated.<br /><br />Tatchell <a href="http://www.petertatchell.net/international/darfurdiein.htm">proposed</a> the following programme of action:<br /><ul><li>Enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur to halt the Sudanese bombing of African villages <li>Send into Darfur a 15,000-strong UN peace-keeping force to protect the civilian population and aid workers, keep the warring factions apart, and disarm the militias <li>Provide food, clothing, shelter and medical care to the victims of the conflict, and provide the refugees with assistance to leave the camps, return to their homes and rebuild their lives and communities <li>Impose sanctions against the Sudanese government leaders and the leaders of the Janjaweed militia, including an arms embargo and arraignment before the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, torture and crimes against humanity </li></ul><p>"Darfur is a needless, preventable humanitarian tragedy, caused by the complacency and inaction of the UK government, the African Union, the United Nations, and the European Union. The international community has Darfur’s blood on its hands," said Tatchell.<br /><br />More controversially, Tatchell <a href="http://www.labourfriendsofiraq.org.uk/archives/000081.html">ascribes the lack of action on the Left</a> to the fear of being branded "Islamophobic".<br /><br />"The threat of being labeled "Islamophobic" is inducing a new wave of moral paralysis, as evidenced by the way most leftists ignore the role of fundamentalist Islam in the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, where racist Islamists are exterminating the black African population."<br /><br />Of course, this is fear is neither insubstantial or unsubstatiated. Ian Donovan <a href="http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages////Politics/Donovan.html">wrote</a> in "What Next?" journal (edited by Bob Pitt of Islamophobia-Watch notoriety). Criticising Harry's Place, the Alliance for Workers Liberty, and the Communist Party of Great Britain for supporting Tatchell, Donovan wrote:<br /><br /><i>"What these opportunists did not print, however, or even mention or criticise, was Peter Tatchell’s public call for Iraq-style sanctions against Sudan, and for a blue-helmeted, United Nations imperialist armed force to invade that country and "sort out" the communal conflict and ethnic cleaning that is going on in Darfur. As everyone knows, this would mean the US and its allies under another flag, as in the Korean and 1991 Gulf Wars,"</i> said Donovan.<br /><br />No wonder they had no ideas to save the lives of the 400 000 now dead and a million more waiting to die.<br /><br />Once again, sections of the Left give priority to Muslim oppressors at the expense of the Muslim victims of that oppression. Let us be clear: what is happening in Sudan has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with racism and racial supremacy. Arab Islamists are "ethnically cleansing" black Africans - most of whom are also Muslims (but Muslims of the wrong race).<br /><br />But there is no need for us to be paralysed by this poison. Wearing a blue hat on Sunday must be a start to a robust plan of action. Argument is better than silence, so let the debate begin.</p>Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1157656014954010642006-09-07T20:06:00.000+01:002006-09-07T20:06:54.990+01:00What I shall say to Stephen GreenI’m looking forward to ‘meeting’ Stephen Green on Saturday. I shall be in Canterbury to attend the AGM of the <a href="http://www.galha.org">Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association</a>, whose magazine – <a href="http://www.gayhumanist.com/">GHQ</a> – as you know, I edit.<br /><br />We have been tipped off by an evangelical Christian in Canterbury - whose loathing of Mr Green marginally outweighs his loathing of gays and “pagans” (as he calls Humanists) - that Green is intending to hijack their ‘peaceful demonstration’ against our AGM.<br /><br />The group, which calls itself “Christian Family &amp; Youth Concern Fellowship” had been <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2418.html">planning to register their protest</a> against our supposed aim of “promoting sexual deviancy and paganism” in a “holy city” and their leader, a Rev Darryl Griffiths, wrote to the hotel hosting the event in an attempt to get them to either cancel the event or allow their mob to wave banners in the car park. Fortunately they were told to get knotted and that no molestation of the hotel’s guests would be tolerated.<br /><br />So they decided to hold a “pray-in” instead. Enter Stephen Green.<br /><br /><i>Re G&LHA Conference, Canterbury.<br />Sorry not to be in touch before. I should be interested in the hymn-singing vigil you mention, and could advertise this and support it with people. I'll be pleased to send you the latest Christian Voice newsletter if you would be kind enough to email me a note of your land address and church attended ...<br />May God bless you.<br />Yours sincerely,<br />Stephen Green, M.A<br />National Director, Christian Voice</i><br /><br />But, says Rev Griffiths in his correspondence with GALHA:<br /><br /><i>“Unfortunately, I learned yesterday afternoon that one of our members, a bit of a ‘loose cannon’, has taken it upon himself to alert Stephen Green of Christian Voice to the G&amp;LHA conference (sic). This was done without consulting me, or other fellowship members. Stephen Green is well-known within the Christian Community for his outspoken views and for a somewhat strident approach to those with whom he disagrees. Our concern is that he may well organise his own protest, which is certainly against our wishes.”</i><br /><br />As an aside, I’d take Stephen Green’s approach any day. It is far less insidious than Rev Griffith’s alternative. Griffith says:<br /><br />“Our fear, is that Stephen Green may turn up anyway, undoing all the valuable outreach work we have done in helping gays who seek salvation through prayer and Christian fellowship. If he does, we wish to make it clear that he does so without the approval or encouragement of the FYC fellowship. We oppose stridency from any quarter, as it's always counter-productive in bringing the wayward back to the fold.”<br /><br />What is his vehicle for this? Why, the <a href="http://alpha.org/">Alpha Course</a>, of course!<br /><br /><i>“[W]e will be contacting local newspapers in order to advertise the Alpha Course and encourage homosexuals to turn away from the dark path they have chosen,” says Griffiths.</i><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.galha.org/briefing/alpha.html">Alpha Course targets people</a> who want to “explore the meaning of life” – in other words, people who feel lost, alienated, depressed and directionless. People who are emotionally vulnerable: like many lesbian and gay people whose minds have already been brutalised by The Church. Alpha is to religion what McDonald’s is to cuisine – and they have just as stringent <a href="http://alpha.org/downloads/Alphalogo_guidelines.pdf">branding rules</a>. So successful is the commodifying of evangelicalism that they now advertise on London busses. (This is no surprise, since half of London’s busses are run by Stagecoach – owned by <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/602714.stm">another homophobic religious nut</a>. But I digress…<br /><br />Stephen Green is in <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2412.html">all sorts of trouble</a> at the moment. He’s <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/5319896.stm">facing a prosecution</a> for “using threatening words and behaviour” at a Cardiff gay pride event. From what I can ascertain, this didn’t amount to much more than doling out ‘turn or burn’ type leaflets.<br /><br />An unrepentant Green claims that his “<a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2432.html">rights to free speech</a> have been challenged”.<br /><br />And, he’s absolutely right. <b>I’ll go on record as saying that I support his right to express his views in a peaceful manner. </b>The police and the courts have no moral right to pursue people for simply expressing their thoughts and opinions, as long as they do not incite violence or make violent threats.<br /><br />But, since Stephen Green <a href="http://www.mediawatchwatch.org.uk/?p=160">only speaks the language of fundamentalists</a>, I would have to refer him to what Jesus says (as reported in <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/Mat/Mat007.html">Matthew 7:5</a>):<br /><br /><b><i>Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.</i></b><br /><br />Stephen Green is <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4161109.stm">no supporter of freedom of speech</a>. I shan’t rehash the disgraceful tactics he used to try to shut down Jerry Springer: The Opera, since I covered it on <a href="http://galha.blogspot.com/2005/09/green-doesnt-have-prayer.html">the GALHA blog</a> at the time.<br /><br />Of course, Green and his ilk don’t balk orchestrating prosecutions of “religious hatred” when some sad facts are pointed out at their expense. The <a href="http://www.gay.police.uk/">Gay Police Association</a> is facing a <a href="http://www.mediawatchwatch.org.uk/?p=518">possible prosecution</a> after they revealed in an advert that the majority of homophobic incidents reported to them had a religious component.<br /><br />As <a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2006/09/religious_extremists_demand_ce.html">Peter Tatchell pointed out </a>yesterday in his Comment Is Free piece:<br /><br /><i>“The GPA advert has reportedly prompted thousands of complaints to the Metropolitan Police by supporters of religious pressure groups, as well as by die-hard fundamentalists. They have expressed no concern about the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5232244.stm">death threats</a>, but they want the ad banned and are demanding the prosecution of the GPA. The Met is now investigating whether the GPA advertisement constitutes an anti-religious hate crime. It has referred the complaints to the Crown Prosecution Service.” </i><br /><br />Isn’t this all getting a bit too much? I have no illusions that the bulk of homophobia is generated by men in frocks. I want the right to confront them without the fear of prosecution. I do not fear their ludicrous tracts – bring ‘em on I say – because they can be defeated with persistent reason and clear-headed logic. I don’t need the long arm of the law to protect me from Stephen Green. But, if he has the courage of his convictions, he needs to explain why he needs the law to protect his beliefs from me.<br /><br />So I shall tell Mr Green that, in this instance at least, I’m prepared to act on Jesus’s advice (also in Matthew 7), even as he so flagrantly defies it. I shall do unto others as I would have them do unto me. If he arrives on Saturday with his slogans and leaflets, I shall intercede if the Canterbury police emulate their colleagues in Cardiff. I shall say:<br /><br /><b>“For f…reedom’s sake, officer, let the man speak his mind!" – and, if necessary, I shall offer to be arrested along side him.</b><br /><br />This madness has to be challenged.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1157543841074918692006-09-06T12:56:00.000+01:002006-09-06T12:57:21.090+01:00Wear a blue hat on September 17September 17 2006 is the <a href="http://www.dayfordarfur.org/index.asp">Global Day for Darfur</a>.<br /><br />Individuals and organisations around the world will join peaceful demonstrations, rallies, marches, and other events to draw attention to the criminally under-reported plight of the people of Darfur. September 17 marks the first anniversary of the signing of the <a href="http://www.un.org/summit2005/Draft_Outcome130905.pdf">UN World Summit Outcome Document</a>, which enshrined the international doctrine of the "<a href="http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/">Responsibility To Protect</a>"<br /><br />Despite the pledge: <i>“to take collective action …if national authorities manifestly fail to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”</i>, the violence in western Sudan has not stopped; in fact, in some parts of Darfur, the violence has grown worse.<br /><br /><b><i>"People are still being killed and raped and displaced - every single day," </i></b>say the <a href="http://www.dayfordarfur.org/index.asp">Day For Darfur</a> organisers.<br /><br />On September 17 people around the world will take part in the Global Day for Darfur to show world-wide support for the Darfuri people and to put pressure on our Governments to protect the civilians.<br /><br />We hope that you will be able to join us on the Global Day for Darfur.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dayfordarfur.org/blue_hats/default.aspx">Wear a blue hat</a> on September 17th, and joining in protests and events to help the people of Darfur.<br /><br /><object id="mediaplayer1" height="196" width="320" classid="CLSID:22d6f312-b0f6-11d0-94ab-0080c74c7e95"><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <embed src="http://www.dayfordarfur.org/Movies/Day_For_Darfur_Advert.mpg" width="320" height="196 autostart=" filename="http://www.dayfordarfur.org/Movies/Day_For_Darfur_Advert.mpg" scale="tofit" showcontrols="True" showstatusbar="False" showdisplay="False" autorewind="True"></embed><br /></object><br /><p><br />To view with Quicktime <a class="MainTextLink" href="http://www.dayfordarfur.org/Movies/Day_For_Darfur_Advert.mov" target="_blank">click here</a><br /><br /></p>Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1157383814225125882006-09-04T16:30:00.000+01:002006-09-04T16:30:14.366+01:00Government ghaners church’s supportThe clergy in Ghana are backing their government’s decision to ban a conference for gay men and lesbians. The government has pledged to take “disciplinary action” on anyone “breaking the law”, <a href="http://www.mysocalledgaylife.com/usa/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2684&Itemid=66">reports GayWired</a>.<br/><br/>Because homosexuality is illegal in Ghana, this has been widely interpreted as referring to anyone attending the conference.<br/><br/>Information Minister Kwamena Bartels, said in a statement that <em>“Government would like to make it absolutely clear that it shall not permit the proposed conference anywhere in Ghana… Unnatural carnal knowledge is illegal under our criminal code. Homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality are therefore offences under the laws of Ghana.”</em><br/><br/>While he has the backing of the clergy (surprise, surprise) apparently some members of the public have used radio phone-in programmes to (anonymously) criticise the government’s lack of respect for freedom of speech. But of course, others support the Church’s stance.<br/><br/>Once again, when draconian measures are taken to deny LGBT people their legal rights, religious leaders can be counted on to cheerlead the persecution.<br/><br/>The South African edition of <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1157284441736A162">The Independent, reports</a> that the Ghanaian government claims that allowing the conference will undermine the country’s “culture and morality”.<br/><br/>In a statement that quite clearly contradicts his own stance, Mr Bartels told The Independent: <em>“It's not illegal for them to meet and talk, but we in Ghana don't want to encourage it. They can go and do it elsewhere.”</em><br/><br/><a href="http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=315045&rel_no=1">Another report</a> stated that the conference centre had denied that any such conference was planned. One might speculate that the government and the church made it all up in an effort simply to create a moral panic and stir up homophobia.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1157372047976114942006-09-04T13:14:00.000+01:002006-09-04T13:14:08.080+01:00News from a BubbleMy friend Vincent Maher, currently the director of the <a href="http://nml.ru.ac.za/">New Media Laboratory</a> at <a href="http://www.ru.ac.za/">Rhodes University</a>’s <a href="http://jms.ru.ac.za/">School of Journalism & Media Studies</a> in <a href="http://www.grahamstown.co.za/">Grahamstown</a>, South Africa (my old stomping ground, when I taught there in the late 90s, and studied there in the late 80s) has developed an innovative way to ‘aggregate’ the day’s news.<br/><br/>Check out <a href="http://www.newzbubble.com/index.php">NewzBubble.com</a><br/><br/>The site aggregates news&nbsp;&nbsp;- categorised into technology, world, US, UK and South African -&nbsp;&nbsp;and converts the stories into tags and renders them as floating bubbles where the size of the bubble is determined by the frequency of the tag. It also shows which tags are the most clicked on by users.<br/><br/>What it basically does it create differently sized balloons which inflate according to the frequency of certain keywords. In today’s news aggregation, we see that keyword “police” has made the largest bubble, while terms like “Climate” and “rainfall” have made teeny-tiny little ones.<br/><br/>The application is still in ‘beta’, but says Maher, “It’s like a dog, every day I wake up and train this thing - I have to train it which words to keep and which to discard.”<br/><br/>He says he didn’t create it intentionally. He’d been thinking about new ways to aggregate the news and “had some bubble code lying around”. “I just started messing about”, he says.<br/><br/>It might not be the most efficient way of searching the news, but it is loads of fun, turns up unexpected stories and has loads of potential to visually demonstrate both news priorities and reader interest as Maher develops the technology.Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14772686.post-1157368732182176602006-09-04T12:18:00.000+01:002006-09-04T12:18:52.286+01:00Paul Simon's SurprisePaul Simon’s new album ‘Surprise’ (which can be <a href="http://www.paulsimon.com/player.php">previewed here</a>) has some interesting observations about the direction religion is going. In one song, ‘Wartime Prayers’, he notes:<br/><br/><em>Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations, Appeals for love or love's release In private invocations But all that is changed now, Gone like a memory from the day before the fires. People hungry for the voice of God Hear lunatics and liars Wartime prayers, wartime prayers In every language spoken, For every family scattered and broken.</em><br/><br/>In another song ‘I don’t believe’, he sings:<br/><br/><em>I don't believe we were born to be sheep in a flockTo pantomime prayers with the hands of a clock</em><br/><br/>The albums title track opens provocatively with the song “How can you live in the Northeast?”<br/><br/><em>How can you live in the Northeast?How can you live in the South?How can you build on the banks of a riverWhen the flood water pours from the mouth?How can you be a Christian?How can you be a Jew?How can you be a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu?How can you?Weak as the winter sun, we enter life on earth.Names and religion comes just after date of birth.Then everybody gets a tongue to speak,And everyone hears an inner voice,A day at the end of the week to wonder and rejoice.If the answer is infinite lightWhy do we sleep in the dark?</em><br/><br/>Of course, it being Paul Simon, you’re not going to get any unequivocal statements and his meaning is often obscure. <br/><br/>As a long-time fan, I must say, I don’t rate this album as anything approaching his best work. It’s competent, but, from what I heard on the preview, is rather pedestrian. But “<em>People hungry for the voice of God, Hear lunatics and liars” – </em>what a line!Brett Locknoreply@blogger.com1